Fred Van Lente names the heir to Luke Cage’s former title in SHADOWLAND: POWER MAN

Published

May 11, 2010

Updated

May 12, 2010

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By Marc Strom

With Daredevil taking control of New York's streets, writer Fred Van Lente and artist Mahmud Asrar introduce a new young hero with ties to the New Avengers' Luke Cage in SHADOWLAND: POWER MAN, a four-issue limited series debuting this August.

"Daredevil has declared that Shadowland-the territory under the control of his Hand ninja-off-limits to any 'costumes' not sanctioned by him," explains Van Lente. "Into this oppressive situation explodes a brand new Power Man, a young teen defying this law and helping the working class folk of the West Side for a nominal fee. You can hire him on Craig's List, but no one knows who he really is.

"Daredevil doesn't take too kindly to this, and so it's a race against time to see who gets to Power Man first: Luke Cage and Iron Fist or the murderous Hand?"

Given this mysterious new character's choice of name and modus operandi, Van Lente can disclose that the rookie do-gooder "has a very specific tie to Luke Cage. And Iron Fist. And Bullseye, for that matter." However, fans will have to wait a little while to discover the true nature of those connections.

"This is the kind of story where I'm not willing to reveal too much before the first issue," cautions the writer. "The fun of reading it will be following Luke and Danny [Rand, aka Iron Fist] as they try to figure out who this kid is, and how he got the power to make stuff explode when he punches it!"

Luke Cage, the original Power Man, spent several years teamed with Iron Fist as the original Heroes for Hire, and Van Lente has had a blast pairing the two for this story.

"They really are the original mismatched super-duo, a genre I'm somewhat familiar with over in INCREDIBLE HERCULES with the pairing of Amadeus Cho and Herc," he notes. "But Danny, son of privilege, and Luke, child of the streets, are so different in terms of backgrounds and attitudes they really should have had a 1980's hour-long network show from Stephen J. Cannell."

Van Lente promises that his series will "tie in very closely" to the main SHADOWLAND series.

"It's essential reading," says the writer. "If the tagline to Shadowland is 'The Battle for the Soul of New York,' once you learn the full truth [about] Power Man's identity, powers, and connection to our main heroes, readers will see that he is that soul."

But fans shouldn't expect this series to have too much darkness in it, according to Van Lente:

"Our great artist, Mahmud Asrar, and I are trying to prove with this book a 'street' title doesn't have to be noir-drenched angst all the time; it can be a lot of fun too. That's coming across in our hero's youthful-well, 'salt' I had one editor describe it as. And also a return of the great villains of Power Man past: Cottonmouth! Cockroach Hamilton! Comanche! Shades! Black Mariah! And one I'm particularly excited to be writing, whom I haven't had a crack at since my M.O.D.O.K.'S 11 limited series back in the day."

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Matt Murdock dared evil ... and lost! The battle for the soul of a hero begins! Pushed beyond his limits, Daredevil faces off for a final time against his deadliest foe--Bullseye--in their most brutal battle ever with more than just Hell's Kitchen is at stake. Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Punisher and more join forces to stop a war that is breaking out throughout New York, with Daredevil ...
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Matt Murdock dared evil ... and lost! The battle for the soul of a hero begins! Pushed beyond his limits, Daredevil faces off for a final time against his deadliest foe--Bullseye--in their most brutal battle ever with more than just Hell's Kitchen is at stake. Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Punisher and more join forces to stop a war that is breaking out throughout New York, with Daredevil at the center. This event will change the streets of New York City--and the heroes that protect it--forever.
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